Film Review | Wreck it Ralph.

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                                                                            "I am bad and that's good. 
                                                                 I will never be good and that's not bad. 
                                                                   There's no one I'd rather be than me" 

                   This Review may contain spoilers, so if you don't want anything ruined then see the film first!

A couple of days ago I took my little sister and two of her friends to see the new Disney film: Wreck-it Ralph. I love everything Disney so obviously had to see it when it came out, having an eight year old sister is a handy excuse to see these films. I didn't really know what the film was about when I went to see it so didn't really have any expectations on what it would be like. So I went in with a completely open mind & thought I'd share my thoughts about it with you.

I quickly want to mention the short film that's shown before the film itself: Paper Man, it shows a man and a woman who meet by chance through some paper and a gust of wind. They part ways but the man spots her on numerous occasions and tries to get her attention by throwing paper airplanes, the amount builds up and he eventually gives up. The paper planes then seemingly come to life and guide the couple back to one another where they eventually meet again. I really enjoyed this short film I thought it was very cute and sweet, the animation was really good. I really enjoyed the fact that the entire short was in black and white apart from the female character's red lipstick. I'd definitely say its one of the best Disney/Pixar shorts there has been.

Now onto the main film, I love the concept of Wreck-it Ralph, the fact that it is set inside the gaming world is in my opinion, inspired. This concept allows incredible animation and design but also gives the opportunity to create some rather exciting characters which I think they definitely did. Wreck-it Ralph is reminiscent of Toy Story in the way that it utilizes the interest of children, but it develops it further to be more suited for the audience. Toy Story was a big phenomenon when I was a child and I'm sure for alot of you, Go 90's kids! One of the reasons that I think it was so successful is because of the fact that it included the use of toys which were pretty much our pass times as children. As technology has moved on computer games and digital games have captured the interest of today's young children, so a film in that setting is a clever way of attracting the audience. This advancement in technology and the mix between traditional Disney ideas & values allows the makers to create a creatively beautiful and heartwarming family film for all to enjoy.

As for the story line of the film, I think its rather refreshing that the story is centered around a 'villain' who doesn't want to be considered a villain in his game anymore and leaves his game in an attempt to become a hero and get a medal so that he can become accepted by the other characters in his game. He journeys through many games including a shooting game in which Ralph quips: "When did video games become so violent and scary." A joke that I'm sure the older viewers will appreciate. He then journeys into the candy fulled world that is Sugar Rush, which is likely to give any body a sugar craving. Along the way Ralph must come to terms with what it really means to be a hero and whether or not he can achieve it.

Their is an abundance of fantastic characters in this movie all linked within the video/arcade game world, we see Sonic & Pac man with references to Mario & Lara Croft, it really is a spectacular sight as characters old and new join together to create a vibrant video game world. It is definitely fun to play spot the video game character and there is definitely something for everyone. The four main characters however are Wreck-it Ralph, Sargent Calhoun, Fix-it Felix Jr & Vanellope von Schweetz. Each dynamic & wonderfully animated to appeal to all genres. Wreck-it Ralph & Fix-it Felix Jr are the classic retro characters, Sargent Calhoun is the kick-ass fighting character & Vanellope von Schweetz is the feisty but lovable racer who very much reminds me of Coco Bandicoot in Crash Team Racing (90's kids will know who I mean.)

Wreck-it Ralph played by John C. Reilly, I think he puts a brilliant spin on the 'bad guy' character and creates a really love able and relatable good guy. He has you feeling for the character of Ralph the whole way through and is absolutely hilarious as always.

Fix-it Felix Jr is played by Jack McBrayer, I must to be honest I hadn't really heard of him or his work before so didn't really know what to expect from him or the character. But I really liked his portrayal of this character, he creates the character of a typical good guy, his country charm adds both like ability and comedy and he becomes a crucial and well liked member of the team.

Jane Lynch's portrayal of Sargent Calhoun, unsurprisingly adds wonderfully comedic one liners which suits perfectly to her character. A Bad Ass, fighter aiming to destroy all the Cy-Bugs from her game Hero's Duty, but gets alot more than she bargained for when Wreck-it Ralph enters her game.

Vanellope von Schweetz is played by the talented Sarah Silverman, her portrayal of the love able glitch Vanellope is brilliant she captures the aspects of the character really well, creating hilarious comedy & also heartbreaking vulnerability at times. She manages to play the character of a 9 year old girl very well indeed.

I thought the animation as a whole was incredible, there was so much attention to detail and every part of it looked realistic as part of a game it really is a brilliant sight to behold. Particularly in the game sugar rush, the creativity behind that world is unbelievable. It's one of few films which I'm glad I saw in 3D as it just made everything so vibrant and exciting. It is not surprising that it has been nominated for so many awards as the work that must have gone into it to create such a wonderful piece of animation must have been alot, but it most definitely payed off in my opinion.

Wreck-it Ralph is such a brilliant film for the whole family to enjoy. It is heart warming, funny & at points tear jerking. It has a wonderful message behind it, and it is relate able for those who have ever felt misunderstood, unappreciated and who just wants a chance to show what they've got. It really is a beautiful story and reminds us all to keep "taking life one game at a time"

                                                   Here's the trailer for anyone interested.

                                        Have you seen Wreck-it Ralph? What did you think of it? 
                                            How do you think it compares to other Disney films?

                                                                         Speak Soon
                                                                         Charlotte xx